The target form is compounds that focus on the different words that can be difficult for many people. Moreover, compounds can cause comprehension challenges even to native speakers, making it essential to analyze them when focusing on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching. Compounding involves merging different words to make new words. The compound words have been used to create a broader, new, or irrelevant meaning. Furthermore, they can be open compound words, closed compound words, and hyphenated compound words. The open form compounds are two words written independently and are separated by a space. The closed-form compounds are joined together to make a new word, and no space is used when writing them. The hyphenated compounds are put together but are separated by a hyphen. Therefore, teachers need to ensure that learners can understand and distinguish the different compounds.
Compounds are also classified by their class, whereby compound verbs are used to describe actions, compound adjectives are descriptive and compound nouns are used to name something. The different aspects of compounds can also lead to more difficulties for young Arabic-speaking learners of English. Thus, they should be critically analyzed since they are primarily used in the English language. Learners can also be encouraged to use their newly-learned compound words to guarantee that they are more familiar with them.
The form presents valid information that can be used when educating young Arabic-speaking learners of English. Many people misinterpret information after encountering some challenging words such as compounds. Thus, the information can address some of these difficulties. Additionally, different types of compounds have been analyzed and can be used to educate Arabic-speaking English learners to guarantee that they do not experience challenges when interacting with others in the community. The information can also enable them to express themselves in school settings. Thus, the target form entails compounds and can significantly improve EFL teaching.
Provide a Brief Account of What Research Reveals about its Acquisition
Many researchers have analyzed how learning about compounds can impact EFL teaching. Its acquisition can primarily help young Arabic-speaking learners of English since they can interact with other learners with ease. The use of compound words is common in the English language since they have different meanings. Moreover, teachers use these words in their various teaching practices. Consequently, young Arabic-speaking learners of English can encounter challenges when dealing with these words. Nonetheless, researchers have argued that educating these learners on using these words helps minimize the difficulties and improve their communication skills.
Many individuals have also analyzed the reason why the compounds should be taught in schools. One of the primary reasons is that it helps increase pupil’s vocabulary, which is an essential aspect of EFL teaching. For instance, young Arabic-speaking learners of English can understand how words operate and how they can be used in different concepts. Additionally, teaching compound words can enable individuals to learn and remember new words. Learners can also have the courage to form compound words and taking them apart.
It can be difficult for EFL learners to understand the different compound nouns. Therefore, teachers have been encouraged to critically discuss how these words are formed and how they can be used in a sentence. For instance, young Arabic-speaking learners of English can be encouraged to form sentences using compound nouns to ensure that they are more used to these words. Additionally, some native speakers experience challenges when using compound nouns. Thus, instructors need to guarantee that they use the appropriate teaching methods to enable all learners to understand compound nouns.
Another essential aspect that has been analyzed regarding their acquisition involves the social skills of the learners. Typically, having difficulties in speaking a particular language limits individuals from interacting with others speakers. In this case, young Arabic-speaking learners of English may experience challenges when communicating with native speakers, impacting their social life. Consequently, researchers have argued that focusing on compound words in EFL teaching can improve the social skills of young Arabic-speaking learners of English as they can have the courage to interact with their peers. Moreover, it can improve their academic performance since they can participate in different academic activities such as discussions, enhancing their performance. Therefore, the research reveals that the acquisition of compounds is essential for young Arabic-speaking learners of English since it improves their social skills and academic performance.
Describe Exposure to the Structure in the EFL Context in our Community
Many people have focused on educating their children about foreign languages. For instance, many young people in Asian countries learn English to ensure that they can interact with individuals from different states that use English. Therefore, EFL teaching has become essential in many countries, and exposure to the English language is encouraged by many individuals. In this case, one can focus on exposure to the structure in the EFL context in the community by analyzing the use of compounds and how they can impact learners’ communication skills.
One of the ways that young Arabic-speaking learners of English can be introduced to the compounds in the EFL teaching is by defining the compound words and how they are formed. The introduction is vital since it involves educating learners about different types of compounds. Some compounds, such as the Endocentric compounds, are complex for many to understand. Consequently, teachers in EFL teaching have ensured that learners are exposed to different compounds and learn their various meanings and use in the sentence. For instance, the endocentric compounds have two nouns side-by-side and can be difficult for young Arabic-speaking learners of English to use appropriately. Additionally, verbal-nexus compounds have been analyzed in EF teaching since they consist of a verb and a direct object of a verb and suffix. Thus, learners must be exposed to such words to increase their familiarity. Young Arabic-speaking learners of English have also been encouraged to practice compound words when interacting with English speakers in the community to increase their exposure.
Involving parents in EFL teaching is another essential aspect that has been developed to expose young Arabic-speaking learners to English in the structure and ensure that they can improve their communication skills. Various books have been written to help students improve their vocabulary. Exposure to English books can also encourage students to develop their skills by completing the tests available and constructing sentences using the compound words available in short stories.
The form is also taught explicitly in many schools since teachers ensure that students have learned the different ways of using compounds in their English language. Although many students have challenges when using compound words, teachers guarantee that young Arabic-speaking learners of English use the words in their tests and sentences, which improves their understanding of compound words. Additionally, teachers focus on the strengths and weaknesses of learners, whereby they focus on individual abilities and develop strategies to help the weak students advance their language. For instance, learners are issued with homework and encouraged to seek assistance from their parents to enable them to improve their performance in the English language. Encouraging communication using the English language is another aspect that teachers have practiced as a method of increasing exposure. Students can learn from one another and gain confidence in using compound words. Typically, when learners interact, they improve their communication skills and gain courage when interacting with other people in the community.
The form is also taught explicitly since communicating in English involves the use of different compound words. Therefore, teachers have ensured that young Arabic-speaking learners of English are introduced to the compound words early and can use them with ease. In this case, learners are given different compound words and asked to group them and their definitions. The strategy is essential since learners are exposed to various compounds and can understand how to group them. Moreover, they can write them correctly using spaces and hyphens. Therefore, one can argue that compounds are taught explicitly, which helps young Arabic-speaking learners of English improve their English language.
Experts have also analyzed the levels which the learners are taught to determine whether they are appropriate. In this case, students are taught at the elementary level to help them gain knowledge about compound words as they advance to other levels. Additionally, young Arabic-speaking learners of English need to learn different compound words at the elementary level to guarantee that they can improve their communication skills early. Teaching practices at this level involve the use of short stories that have simple English words for beginners (Arjmandi & Aladini, 2020). Teachers also ensure that learners can complete sentences using the appropriate compounds. The spelling of the words is also taught to guarantee that learners can construct sentences using the compound words without any spelling mistakes.
Evaluate Use in Learner Production in Your EFL Context
Young Arabic-speaking learners of English experience challenges when writing compound words. Some common mistakes involve spellings whereby a student may fail to use a space when writing some words (Nazari & Mirsaeeidi, 2017). For instance, a word such as every day can be challenging for young Arabic-speaking learners of English, whereby some may write it as two different words. Additionally, some students can confuse compound words and phrasal verbs. Typically, a compound verb consists of multiple words, while a phrasal verb is a part of a sentence that contains the verb and any direct or indirect object. Hence, differentiating these words is difficult for many young Arabic-speaking learners of English. Another common mistake that learners can encounter involves the use of spaces and hyphens. For example, a word such as coffee shop is compound, and some learners may use a hyphen or fail to use a space when writing the word. Also, a word such as empty-handed is hyphenated and can be confusing for many learners, whereby some may use space or fail to insert a space. Therefore, spelling is also another common issue experienced by many young Arabic-speaking learners of English when writing compound words.
Although many learners can use compound words when speaking, they can encounter challenges when writing the words. Therefore, the structure to expose them by encouraging them to write more words correctly and grouping them appropriately is vital as it improves their writing skills. Additionally, they understand the meaning of the different words the more they write them. Hence, the use of the compounds does not necessarily involve speaking but also writing. Young Arabic-speaking learners of English can also be encouraged to use computer apps to improve their writing skills, whereby apps have been developed to enable people to learn how to spell and write the meaning of different words correctly.
Pedagogical Suggestions
Based on the challenges that have been observed in the previous section, one can suggest that young Arabic-speaking learners of English should be encouraged to practice more writing of the words to limit the challenges they face when using compound words. Moreover, the more they write, the higher their chances of understanding how to use the words in different contexts. Limiting errors can also be achieved by encouraging learners to read more English books since they can familiarize themselves with the compound words used in the short stories. Teachers should also focus on the weaknesses of each student and develop strategies to improve their English language. For instance, some students may have challenges in writing the words. Thus, instructors can issue texts to these learners whereby they can spell the words correctly. Parents should also be encouraged to support their children and educate them at home on how to use different words. The approach is crucial since students can learn from their parents and ask questions without any fear compared to school to the school setting. Thus, these strategies can help in improving the English language among young Arabic-speaking learners of English.
References
Arjmandi, M., & Aladini, F. (2020). Improving EFL learners’ vocabulary learning through short story oriented strategy (SSOS). Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 10(7), 833-841. Web.
Nazari, N. S. M., & Mirsaeeidi, A. S. (2017). The effects of communicative pronunciation instruction on suprasegmental performance in an EFL context. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 7(10), 860. Web.